Join us as we celebrate Deaf Awareness Week (6 to 12 May 2024) and help us make everyday life more deaf-friendly for children and young people. The purpose of the week is to help break down communication barriers and encourage better communication between deaf and hearing individuals.

The event also aims to promote the inclusion of deaf individuals in all aspects of society and highlight the importance of accessibility in the workplace and other public places.

Facts about the deaf community

Here are a few quick facts to know:

• 12 million people in the UK are deaf or have hearing loss.
• Roughly 1 in 6 people in the UK experience some form of hearing loss.
• BSL (British Sign Language) is the most widely used sign language in the UK and has been recognised as an official language since 2003.
• There are many different types of deafness, including congenital deafness (present from birth) and acquired deafness (developing later in life due to illness, injury or age-related factors).
• Deafness can impact people’s ability to communicate and access information, but many deaf people use sign language, lip reading, and other methods to communicate.
• Access to services and information can be a challenge for deaf people due to barriers such as lack of captioning or sign language interpretation.